BC Tree Fruits will receive a new, publically available automated external defibrillator (AED) for their facility, courtesy of the Royal Lepage Big Bike team. The Royal Lepage Rollers team raised $7,190 for Heart & Stroke, the top 2018 fundraising team for the entire Okanagan/Kootenay region.
The Heart&Stroke Big Bike is a team event geared towards companies, community organizations and groups of friends and families who each commit to fundraise in order to earn their seat on a fun, 30 seat bike and support the Heart & Stroke’s mission to promote health, save lives and enhance recovery.
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“The Royal Lepage Rollers, have raised an outstanding $34,624 over the past seven years for the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Placing more AED’s in our community fulfills our commitment to enabling faster, better cardiac emergency response and therefore survival rates,” said Wendy Wright, Heart & Stroke coordinator community fundraising, Okanagan/Interior.
“The Big Bike is so much fun and we feel good giving back to the community in this important way. Many people in our office have been touched by heart disease and this motivates our team to support Heart & Stroke,” said Kandis Mason, the Royal Lepage team captain.
In B.C., a cardiac arrest happens every two hours. Bystander response is critical because chances of survival drop 7 per cent to 10 per cent every passing minute without CPR or defibrillation. However, performing CPR and using an AED immediately can double or triple chances of survival.
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AEDs are small, portable devices that shock the heart into a normal rhythm—it will not deliver a shock unnecessarily. AEDs can be used quickly and safely by the general public before emergency services arrive.
Heart & Stroke believes AEDs should be as common as fire extinguishers. The AED, once placed, will form part of the B.C. Public Access to Defibrillation (PAD) Program and will be linked to the provincial AED Registry and the 911 dispatch system. This enables a bystander who calls 9-1-1 to be directed by a dispatcher to the nearest AED and coached on CPR.
A partnership program between the Heart & Stroke and BC Emergency Health Services, the BC PAD Program has placed AEDs in public places around the province.
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